Central Valley low elevation snow catches some off guard

kfsn

By ABC30

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif.

It was a snowy start to the Saturday morning drive as dozens of cars packed full of people headed up the hill from the Valley to catch a glimpse of the wintry weather. Most drivers we came prepared for the icy conditions.

"Four wheel drive, chains in the back in case we need them, vehicles in good condition," Keith McFarland form Clovis said.

Others travelled as far as they could to play in the snow without having to put on chains.

"We just decided to stop as soon as we found enough snow for a snowball fight. That's it, we're not really prepared to go play in it too much, but we had a lot of fun," Colleen Horn from Sanger said.

Residents reported several inches of snow fell in the foothills. Nearly a foot of fresh powder gathered on the ground at some of the higher elevations.

"It's cold and it's wet and I like playing in the snow," Mary Degraw from Sanger said.

While skiers are excited to hit the slopes at China Peak for opening day, some Valley soccer players took snow sports to a whole new level.

"You know this is my first year playing soccer, I've played basketball since the third grade and decided to mix it up this year, but this is new. I'm not sure anyone on our team has played in the snow," Sierra High School soccer player Forrest Barcus said.

Teams from all over the Valley arrived at Sierra High School to more than two inches of /*snow*/.

"There was supposed to be 12 teams, we lost three, but for a lot of kids this is the first time they've seen snow so some of our kids from Firebaugh or Tranquility or teams from further out, a lot of them have never seen snow before," Tony Badella Sierra High School.

Even those who live in the foothills said they were surprised by just how much snow fell on the field. But despite the wet weather their coaches tell me its game on.

"We'll get a bright ball out, we're telling both teams to wear their away jerseys because if someone wears white they're going to blend in with the field you know this is going to be the neatest thing to remember right here," Badella said.